Treatment accessory for endoscope

Abstract

A treatment unit for an endoscope, for example, a grasping unit is connected at a distal end of a manipulation wire that is connected to a first manipulation member. An inner tube slidably surrounds the manipulation wire. A proximal end of the inner tube is connected to a distal end of a second manipulation member. Further, an outer tube is provided to surround the inner tube and the manipulation wire. A proximal end of the outer tube is connected to a main body connected to the first manipulation a member by a connecting rod that the positional relationship between the manipulation wire and the outer tube along the axis is fixed. By moving the first and second manipulation members towards each other, the grasping unit is opened as the inner tube slides to uncover a part of the grasping unit which opens by resilience, while when the first and second manipulation members are spaced from each other, the inner tube slides to cover a part of the grasping unit forcing it closed.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A treatment accessory for use with an endoscope, said treatment accessory having a proximal end nearest the user and a distal end remote from a user, and said treatment accessory comprising: a treatment unit having a closed state and an open state, and biased to be in the open state;   an inner tube;   an outer tube coaxially positioned with respect to said inner tube and extending beyond a distal end of said inner tube when said treatment unit is in said open state;   a manipulation wire slidably positioned within said inner tube, a distal end of said manipulation wire attached to said treatment unit, and said distal end of said manipulation wire being substantially at said distal end of said inner tube when said treatment unit is in said open state;   a first manipulation part including a first grasping portion by which said treatment accessory is held, said first manipulation part connected to a proximal end of said manipulation wire;   a second manipulation part including a second grasping portion by which said treatment accessory is held, said second manipulation part connected to a proximal end of said inner tube;   a main body connected to a proximal end of said outer tube;   a single connecting rod that connects said first manipulation part and said main body, said connecting rod being spaced from and parallel to an axis of said manipulation wire, exposing a proximal end of said inner tube and said manipulation wire for cleaning access in a circumferential range only excepting said connecting rod, said connecting rod and said manipulation wire being positioned on either side of an axial center line of said first grasping portion and said second grasping portion, said manipulation wire being surrounded by a rigid member for preventing buckling of said manipulation wire when said first grasping portion is operated along said axial center line;   a fixing device that engages said first manipulation part and at least one of said connecting rod and said manipulating wire, said fixing device enabling attachment and detachment of said at least one of said connecting rod and said manipulation wire to and from said first manipulation part;   wherein said second manipulation part is slidable along said connecting rod toward said main body, and wherein said first manipulation part, said main body, said manipulation wire, and said outer tube are interconnected so that when said first and second grasping portions are separated, said inner tube extends relative to said manipulating wire and said outer tube so that said inner tube closes said treatment accessory.   
     
     
       2. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, wherein said connecting rod is detachable from one of said first manipulation part and said second manipulation part. 
     
     
       3. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, wherein said manipulation wire is detachable from said first manipulation part. 
     
     
       4. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, wherein said treatment unit is formed to resiliently open. 
     
     
       5. The treatment accessory according to claim 4, wherein said treatment unit is closed when said inner tube slides to cover a portion of said treatment unit adjacent to said distal end of said manipulation wire. 
     
     
       6. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said instrument unit comprising a grasping collecting unit. 
     
     
       7. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said instrument unit comprising a basket-type collecting unit, said basket-type collecting unit including a plurality of flexible wires connected to each other at both ends. 
     
     
       8. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said instrument unit comprising a snare unit, said snare unit comprising at least one flexible wire formed into a loop. 
     
     
       9. The treatment accessory according to claim 8, said snare unit comprising a high-frequency snare unit. 
     
     
       10. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said fixing device comprising a screw extending transverse to said axis of said manipulating wire. 
     
     
       11. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said fixing device detachably attaching said first manipulation part and said connecting rod. 
     
     
       12. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said fixing device detachably attaching said first manipulation part and said manipulating wire. 
     
     
       13. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said fixing device comprising screw members detachably attaching said at least one of said connecting rod and said manipulating wire to said first manipulation part. 
     
     
       14. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said connecting rod having a threaded portion that is threadedly engaged with a hole provided on said main body. 
     
     
       15. The treatment accessory according to claim 1, said second manipulation part including a hole extending through said second manipulation part, said hole being substantially coaxial with the axis of said manipulation wire, said manipulation wire extending through said hole, at least a portion of said manipulation wire covered by said rigid member passing through said second manipulation part when said second manipulation part slides along said connecting rod.